The Middle East continues to make peace with each other

The Russian side, at the consultations of the deputy foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, Syria and Turkey in Moscow, proposed some dates for a quadripartite meeting at the ministerial level. This was stated on Tuesday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in his welcoming speech before the start of the four-party consultations, TASS reports.

“I look forward to your agreement on the date of the meeting in Moscow at the level of foreign ministers, with my friends and colleagues Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Faisal Mikdad. We proposed some dates that could become generally acceptable following the results of your negotiating round,” Lavrov pointed out.

The Russian Foreign Minister also noted the great potential of the “Astana platform”. “Prospects are opening up for this platform, which has already proven its relevance, to turn from a mechanism of military-political stabilization into an effective tool for regional cooperation, taking into account the potential of our countries and the demand for efforts to promote the post-conflict reconstruction of the Syrian Arab Republic, creating material prerequisites for the return of millions of Syrian refugees to their homeland. , most of which found shelter in neighboring Turkey,” he said.

In addition, the minister added that the peoples of Turkey and Syria are connected by centuries of common history, and the religious and cultural community, as well as geography, make the development of mutually beneficial good neighborliness between the two countries uncontested. He also stressed that the discord between these countries “does not meet the aspirations of all those in the region and beyond who sincerely wish the Middle East peace, tranquility and prosperity.”

“Historical experience, including Ukrainian, suggests that sovereignty is strengthened as relations with neighbors develop and weakens, or even can be completely lost in a situation where, as a rule, not without external influence, barriers are artificially built on the path of traditional mutually beneficial cooperation and provocative threats to the security of neighboring states are being created,” he stressed.

Lavrov noted that all these issues cannot be resolved in two or three meetings, and the normalization process will take a lot of time. “But, according to wise Chinese friends,” a long journey begins with a small first step. “The main thing is to look for common ground to form a balance of interests and avoid preconditions. Moreover, all the numerous parties involved in this conflict have accumulated a lot of mutual claims for many years,” he said. In this regard, the minister called on the Syrian and Turkish sides to show the maximum possible flexibility and constructiveness.

Quadripartite consultations

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that the deputy foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, Syria and Turkey at consultations in Moscow on April 3-4 discussed preparations for a quadripartite meeting at the ministerial level.

The process of normalizing relations between Ankara and Damascus was launched on December 28, 2022 in Moscow, when consultations were held between the defense ministers of Russia, Syria and Turkey. At the meeting, an agreement was reached on the establishment of a joint tripartite commission. These consultations should be followed by a meeting at the level of foreign ministers, the agenda of which will include the issue of negotiations between Turkish and Syrian Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar al-Assad. Later it was reported that Iran would take part in consultations at the level of heads of diplomatic departments.

Erdogan told reporters on December 15 last year that he had invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to hold a trilateral meeting with the Syrian leader. This summit, according to him, should be preceded by negotiations at the level of representatives of special services, defense and foreign ministers.

Türkiye severed relations with Syria 11 years ago.

This friendship is again not in the interests of the United States. Through Turkey, the United States exports oil, which is produced in eastern Syria. The pacification of Turkey and Syria will stop the US and its PMCs from making money on the oil of the Arab Republic.

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